Look For Me by Lisa Gardner

When her day began, the worst thing that Detective D.D. Warren was expecting was choosing a dog for her family. But when she is called to a crime scene, all those thoughts go out the window. A family, reconciled after the mother regained custody of her children, have been brutally shot. The only survivor, the eldest daughter Roxanna, is missing. Was she present at the shooting? Did she escape before the killer arrived? Or did she wield the gun herself?

As D.D. begins her investigation, her path crosses once again with Flora Dane, a survivor from a dreadful experience, who has now set up a support network for other women who have gone through similar traumas – and Roxanna had recently joined the group. Both women are desperate to find Roxanna but for different reasons and with very different methods, but when someone starts targeting people close to the young woman, it seems that they are in a race against time.

It was almost – hey, just checked, sorry, I’ll start again. It was exactly a year ago that I reviewed Find Her by Lisa Gardner, a review copy that appeared out of nowhere, but really caught my attention. I’m not averse to the occasional thriller, and this was an exceptional example of the genre. Strong lead characters, in particular Flora Dane, and a captivating plot made me keep an eye out for the next book from Lisa. And here it is – thank you Netgalley!

And it’s another cracker. The viewpoint alternates from D.D.’s investigation, Flora’s investigation, and Roxanna’s school essays about her traumatic life so far, as the big picture develops, becoming alternately clearer and more obscure as the story progresses. There’s a real sense of danger and tension laced throughout the story and it’s a real page-turner – one of those books that I’d find myself reading from my Kindle as I walked around the house, walked to the shops… although I’d just like to point out to my boss, I did put it down when I was at work. Honest.

Another strong thriller, with themes that make you think at the same time as not wanting to put it down. Oh, and it’s a decent mystery too. Better mention that, it’s kind of the point of the blog, after all.

Look For Me is out tomorrow in the UK (8th Feb) from Random House UK, and is most definitely Highly Recommended.